CoSci B6 Respiration and Gas Exchange

Conceptual Questions: Padlet link

● Why do multicellular organisms need
specialised respiratory structures?
● How does combustion differ from
respiration?
● To what extent does lifestyle impact
respiratory health?

Core and supplement underlined

Carbon dioxide and methane

1. State the formation of carbon dioxide:

ー as a product of respiration.

Gas exchange

2. Name and identify the lungs, diaphragm, ribs, intercostal muscles, larynx, trachea, bronchi,
bronchioles, alveoli and associated capillaries

3. List the features of gas exchange surfaces in humans, limited to large surface area, thin
surface, good blood supply and good ventilation with air

4. State the differences in composition between inspired and expired air limited to oxygen,
carbon dioxide and water vapour

5. Explain the differences in composition between inspired and expired air

6. Use limewater as a test for carbon dioxide to investigate the differences in composition
between inspired and expired air

7. Investigate and describe the effects of physical activity on rate and depth of breathing

8. Explain the effects of physical activity on rate and depth of breathing in terms of the
increased carbon dioxide concentration in the blood, causing an increased rate of breathing

9. Explain the role of goblet cells, mucus and ciliated cells in protecting the gas exchange
system from pathogens and particles

10. State that tobacco smoking can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung
cancer and coronary heart disease

11. Describe the effects on the gas exchange system of tobacco smoke and its major toxic
components, limited to carbon monoxide, nicotine and tar

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Respiration

12. State the uses of energy in the body of humans limited to: muscle contraction, protein
synthesis, cell division, growth and the maintenance of a constant body temperature

13. Define aerobic respiration as the chemical reactions in cells that use oxygen to break down
nutrient molecules to release energy

14. State the word equation for aerobic respiration as

glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water

15. State the balanced chemical equation for aerobic respiration as

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O

16. Define anaerobic respiration as the chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient
molecules to release energy without using oxygen

17. State the word equation for anaerobic respiration in muscles during vigorous exercise
(glucose → lactic acid)

18. State that lactic acid builds up in muscles and blood during vigorous exercise causing an
oxygen debt

19. State the word equation for anaerobic respiration in microorganism yeast
(glucose → alcohol + carbon dioxide)

20. Describe the role of anaerobic respiration in yeast during bread-making

21. State that anaerobic respiration releases much less energy per glucose molecule than
aerobic respiration

Respiration and Gas Exchange concept map

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Aerobic and anaerobic respiration
All living organisms need energy to stay alive. This energy comes from RESPIRATION. Respiration
involves chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in living cells resulting in the release of
energy.

Click HERE or use QR code to watch a BrainPop video on Cellular Respiration.

(Username: uwcsea Password: secret)

Take the graded quiz and find out how much you learnt from the video.

Click HERE or use code to take a quiz on the video.

🏃 Exercise 1
Watch respiration video 1.
Answer the following questions after your teacher has discussed this topic with you and after you have
watched the video.

✅ Quick Check Questions:

1. What is the definition of cellular respiration?

2. Cellular respiration and breathing differ. How?

3. Complete the word equation for the process of aerobic respiration.

Glucose + ____________ → carbon dioxide + water

4. Complete the symbol equation for aerobic respiration

C6H12O6 + 6_____ → 6________ + 6____________

5. Which organ removes (excretes) carbon dioxide and water vapour from your body?

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1. Using your understanding of MRSGREN, list which 4 aspects of life would require the most
energy from respiration.
●
●
●
●

Can you explain why you have chosen these?

2. Most of the energy produced by respiration is useless and is lost to the environment. Which
form of energy is this?

The graph shows the amount of oxygen used by animal P at different air temperatures.
All living organisms need energy to stay alive. This energy comes from respiration.

Describe the relationship between the amount of oxygen used and temperature.

Explain why most oxygen is used at the lowest air temperature.

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Aerobic and anaerobic respiration

Anaerobic respiration is the release of a relatively small amount of energy by the breakdown of food
substances (usually glucose) in the absence of oxygen. Some of the energy remains in the end products. It
can occur in yeast cells and human muscle cells.

Anaerobic respiration in humans

We cannot respire for long periods without oxygen. However, our muscle cells do quite often run out of
oxygen when they are working hard. They can keep going for a while by respiring anaerobically.

Anaerobic respiration produces a poisonous substance called Lactic Acid and only 150 kJ of energy
(compared to 2830 kJ during aerobic respiration). As it builds up in the muscles, it makes them feel tired
and can cause painful cramps. As a result, muscles can only respire anaerobically for a short period of
time.

The lactic acid diffuses from the muscles into the blood, and is taken to the liver. The liver breaks it down by
combining it with oxygen. Because of this, extra oxygen is needed. This is why you breathe faster when you
have just finished exercising. You are paying off your Oxygen Debt, which you built up while your muscles
were respiring anaerobically.

Anaerobic respiration in yeast

Yeast cells can also carry out anaerobic respiration. However, it is a little different from animal (human)
cells.

glucose → ethanol + carbon dioxide (+ a little energy)

NB: For FERMENTATION to occur the yeast must be supplied with sugar (or something it can convert to
sugar) and NO OXYGEN at all!

The importance of fermentation

In yeast the process is sometimes called fermentation and this process is very important
in brewing and baking. You can watch the fermentation video to help you get a better
understanding of the process of fermentation.

Watch the following bread making video to get a better understanding of how bread is
made and the function of yeast.

Watch the following brewing video.

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✅ Quick Check Questions:
1. Define aerobic respiration

2. Define anaerobic respiration

3. State 2 examples of organisms that can respire anaerobically

●
●

1. Which conditions require anaerobic respiration in humans, and why?

2. Write out a word equation for anaerobic respiration in humans.

3. Which conditions require anaerobic respiration in some microorganisms, and why?

4. Write out a word equation for anaerobic respiration in yeast.

5. Explain why bread rises during the proofing stage.

1. Why would an organism derive greater benefit from respiring aerobically? Give 2 reasons.

2. Explain why an athlete’s rate and depth of breathing are higher than normal even after a race
is over.

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🧪 Experiment 1 - Investigating anaerobic respiration in yeast
Yeast is a microorganism which can respire in two ways. You will be investigating this in the following
experiment.
You will be using the indicator TTC. It is colourless when oxidised and pink when reduced.

N.B. If oxygen is present the indicator is colourless.

If oxygen is not present the indicator is pink.

The setup
will look
like this:

You will replace the limewater with bicarbonate

indicator solution - this is more sensitive to changes in
CO2 concentration.

1. Place a small amount of glucose solution containing yeast in a boiling tube. Add 5 drops of 1% TTC
indicator

Is oxygen present? How do you know?

2. Gently add enough liquid paraffin over this mixture to form a layer over the surface.

What is the purpose of this layer?

3. As soon as the TTC has changed colour, indicating that that no oxygen is present, insert the delivery
tube into a test tube of bicarbonate indicator.

Why do we wait until no oxygen is present to start the experiment?

4. Leave the apparatus for 10-20 minutes. In the space below design a suitable control apparatus
(remember you are trying to see if it is the yeast respiring in the absence of oxygen)

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Questions
What can you conclude from
(a) the final colour of the bicarbonate solution?

(b) the final colour of the TTC indicator?

Explain, using your observations and data, which types of respiration the yeast cells were using
to obtain their energy throughout the time left in the boiling tube.

Research and explain the meaning of the term “yeast are facultative anaerobes”.

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🧪 Experiment 2 - Investigating anaerobic respiration in yeast: Baking
Mix yeast with flour and water to make a DOUGH.

The yeast turns some of the starch in the flour into sugar. It has an enzyme that can do this.

The yeast uses the sugar for anaerobic respiration. (It cannot get oxygen while it is in the dough).
The glucose is broken down by enzymes from the yeast as shown in the equation below.

glucose → ethanol + carbon dioxide (+ energy)

The carbon dioxide gas makes the dough rise as the gas bubbles spread through the dough giving it a
'spongy' texture.

The dough is cooked. This evaporates the alcohol and kills the yeast.

1. What is meant by the term anaerobic?

2. Explain what happens to the anaerobic process during baking.

Review the work covered using the following review site

Make sure you go through all 4 pages.

Now answer this quiz

🤔 Reflection space: What are your key learning points from this lesson?

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The human breathing system
We need to breathe so that we can carry out respiration. Respiration (which is the release of energy from
food) occurs in all living cells. It can be represented by the word equation below.

food + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water (+ energy)

Organisms require oxygen for aerobic respiration. This process produces carbon dioxide as a waste
product. Therefore the following must happen in order for respiration to occur:

(a) Oxygen needs to get into the body.

(b) This oxygen needs to be transported to all body cells.
(c) Carbon dioxide needs to be collected from the cells.
(d) Carbon dioxide needs to be removed from the body.

We are far too big to have the necessary gas exchange through the surface of our body. Therefore we use
a breathing system.

Click HERE to watch a BrainPop video on the respiratory system.

(Username: uwcsea Password: secret)

Click HERE to take a quiz on the video. Take the graded quiz and find out how much you learnt
from the video.

Watch the following video on The human respiratory system and answer the questions that
follow.

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🏃 Exercise 2
Our breathing system is made up of our lungs and windpipe (trachea). When dirt and pathogens collect in
the lungs, mucus,by goblet cells that line the trachea, is produced to trap them. This mucus is then pushed
up and out of the lungs by ciliated cells.

Label the diagram shown above and give the function of the following parts. Use your textbook and the
video to help you.

1. Epiglottis (not shown in diagram)

2. Larynx

3. Trachea

4. Bronchus (plural bronchi)

5. Bronchiole

6. Alveolus (plural alveoli)

Interactive game here

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👀 Demonstration (Experiment 3) - Lung dissection
Watch the lung dissection video with your teacher and answer the following questions based on
your observations:

1. Which tubes contain cartilage?

2. What is the function of this cartilage?

3. The cartilage in the trachea forms 'rings'. These rings of cartilage are called “C-shaped cartilaginous
rings”. Do you think that this is an appropriate name for them?

4. Why do the lungs feel spongy?

5. Why are the lungs red?

🏃 Exercise 3 - The features of gas exchange surfaces in animals

Click here to go to a webpage on the features of gas exchange surfaces in animals.

Read through the information and answer the following questions:

1. Identify the FOUR features of any gas exchange surfaces in animals.
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●
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●

2. Explain how the human lungs effectively meet the requirements of these four features.

3. Where else in the human body might you find a surface that demonstrates these four features?
Explain your answer.

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🏃 Exercise 4 - Gaseous exchange in the lungs
The blood brings in carbon dioxide, keeping the concentration of carbon dioxide higher in the blood than in

the air in the alveoli. Therefore carbon dioxide passes from the ______________ into the _____________.

Oxygen in the air sacs is at a higher concentration than in the blood, so oxygen passes from the

________________ into the ______________ and is quickly carried away.

🏃 Exercise 5 - The importance of diffusion in gas exchange

Gas exchange occurs because of DIFFUSION, so it is important to maintain the correct concentration
gradients.
In alveolus In blood

HIGH CONC. OF OXYGEN LOW CONC. OF OXYGEN

LOW CONC. OF CARBON HIGH CONC. OF CARBON

DIOXIDE DIOXIDE

1. How is the concentration of oxygen in blood kept lower than in the alveoli?

2. How is the concentration of oxygen kept higher in the air than in the blood?

3. What would happen if the concentration of oxygen in the air and blood were equal?

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🏃 Exercise 6 - How is the respiratory system protected and what is the
function of mucus and cilia?
Watch the following video on the Functions of mucus and cilia and answer the questions that
follow:

1. Explain how mucus plays a role in protecting the gas exchange system from pathogens and
particles.

2. Explain how cilia play a role in protecting the gas exchange system from pathogens and particles.

🏃 Exercise 7 - The problems with smoking

Watch the following Smoking Infomercial to get a glimpse on some of the effects of smoking.

Watch the following video on the Effects of smoking on the human body. Then read through the information
below and answer the questions that follow.

Smoking harms health as smoke contains many dangerous chemicals:

● NICOTINE is highly addictive, and makes the heart beat faster by inducing the release of
adrenaline. It increases blood pressure and contributes to Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). It is
present in e-cigarettes too.
● TAR is a sticky, black substance only partially trapped by cigarette filters. It collects in the lungs,
damaging the alveoli by destroying their walls. It can coat the alveoli, interfering with gas exchange
and can cause cancer.
● CARBON MONOXIDE binds irreversibly with haemoglobin preventing oxygen from binding.

Particles from the smoke slow the rate of diffusion in the alveoli. Mucus production increases in an
attempt to trap the particles in smoke. Cilia in the airways are damaged by smoke.

1. Smoking paralyses the cilia. What happens to the mucus (with the dirt) when cilia stop working?

2. How does carbon monoxide reduce the ability of the blood to carry oxygen?

3. Give some examples of pathogens.

Check out this interesting experiment on the tar found in cigarettes.

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🏃 Exercise 8 - Smoke, pollution and keeping the lungs clean
1. Make a LIST of how the lungs are kept clean. Provide plenty of detail and list your facts in bullet
points. (HINT: Include a labeled diagram of a ciliated cell)

2. What does cigarette smoke contain that is:

(a) addictive?

(b) likely to cause heart disease?

(c) likely to cause cancer?

3. Explain how a cancerous tumour is formed.

4. What problems are caused by smoke particles?

5. Make notes on the effect on carbon monoxide (CO) on the body.

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Why do we breathe?

We breathe to take in oxygen needed for cellular respiration and to get rid of the carbon dioxide produced
during cellular respiration. So basically, we breathe to change the air in our lungs. Breathing in is called
inhalation. Breathing out is called exhalation.
Respiratory System (2nd Ed., Rev.) (Clip)

When we inhale we take AIR into our lungs. This air moves through the lungs into the alveoli. Watch the
Breathing video to learn more about what happens to air during breathing.

Give the pathway through the breathing system that the air moves through.

When we breathe out, we pass AIR out of the lungs. While the air is in the lungs OXYGEN is removed from
the air, and CARBON DIOXIDE is added to the air. This is known as gaseous exchange. The composition
of inhaled (atmospheric) air and exhaled air is different.

You may watch the following respiratory system video to get more detailed information on the human
breathing system. (This is optional viewing).

🏃 Exercise 9 - The composition of atmospheric (inhaled) air and exhaled air

Gas Atmospheric air (inhaled air) % Exhaled air

Nitrogen 79 79

Oxygen 21 16

Carbon dioxide 0.04 4

Water vapour variable saturated

1. Which gas is not used or absorbed by the body?

2. Approximately what percentage of the oxygen (not air) is absorbed?

3. By how many times is the volume of carbon dioxide increased in exhaled air?

4. Why is exhaled air saturated with water vapour?

5. Why does carbon dioxide not build up in the air we breathe in?

6. What process adds oxygen to the atmospheric air?

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🧪 Experiment 4 - Comparing carbon dioxide in inhaled and exhaled air
Apparatus
2 boiling tubes
2 bungs with glass tubing
2 pieces of rubber tubing
Limewater
1 marker pen

Procedure
1. Set up the apparatus as shown below.

CHECK that the rubber tubing is assembled correctly, that the boiling tubes are labelled correctly and that
the long glass tubes have their ends under the surface of the hydrogen carbonate indicator.

2. When you have set it all up, show your teacher.

3. Record the appearance of the limewater before you breathe through the apparatus.

4. Now, carefully put the loose ends of both rubber tubes in your mouth and breathe in and out very
gently ten times.

5. Record the appearance of the limewater after breathing.

Questions
(1) Which boiling tube had inhaled air bubbled through it?

(2) What happens to limewater in the two boiling tubes?

(3) What 'conclusion' can you draw from this experiment (be careful in how you word it)?

(4) Is this a 'qualitative' or 'quantitative' investigation? Explain.

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Complete the paragraph below using the following terms:
oxygen respiration glucose
energy deeper faster
oxygen debt lactic acid

During exercise our muscles need more __________________.

This is obtained during __________________. In order to increase the respiration rate, cells must receive

more _____________ and ____________ from the bloodstream. The additional ____________ will be

obtained by increasing the rate of gas exchange in the lungs. To bring in extra oxygen, we breathe

____________ and ____________. After exercise is over the breathing rate returns to normal. If

anaerobic respiration occurred during exercise, extra oxygen, in addition to that needed for respiration of

body cells, must be provided to remove the __________________. This is known as repaying the

________________.

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🏃 Exercise 10 - Exercise and respiration
When athletes train, many changes occur in their muscles and other parts of the body. How do our muscle
cells obtain their energy during different events? The following table shows the percentages of the energy
needed, which are obtained from aerobic and anaerobic respiration in races over different distances.

Percentage of energy obtained from

Event (m)
Aerobic respiration Anaerobic respiration

100 0–5 95 – 100

800 35 65

1500 55 45

10000 90 10

42186 (marathon) 98 2

1. Why will an 800m athlete have to retire from a race if he or she runs too fast in the first 400m?

2. Why would it be rather silly to train for a 4 km rowing race by doing a series of short sprints up a hill
until you were exhausted, every day for a week or two?

3. How could each of the following changes improve an athlete’s performance?

(a) An increase in the blood supply to the muscles.

More raw materials (oxygen and glucose) for aerobic respiration.

(b) An increase in the amount of myoglobin (a substance very like haemoglobin, which stores
oxygen) in the muscles.

(c) An increase in the tolerance of the muscles to lactic acid.

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🧪 Experiment 5 - Does breathing rate increase with exercise?
Instructions
1. Count the number of breaths you take per minute before exercising. Record in table below.
2. Count the number of heartbeats per minute, for yourself, before exercising. Record in table below.
3. Exercise (quietly but vigorously!) for 5 minutes. Stop!
4. Count the number of breaths you take per minute AFTER exercising. Record in table below.
5. Count the number of heartbeats per minute AFTER exercising. Record in table below.
6. Rest for 5 minutes after exercise.
7. Count the number of breaths you take per minute AFTER 5 minutes of rest. Record in table below.
8. Count the number of heartbeats per minute AFTER 5 minutes of rest. Record in table below.
9. Record the results of TWO other students in your table and find the average.

No. of breaths No. of No. of breaths No. of No. of breaths No. of

per min. before heartbeats per per min. after 5 heartbeats per per min. after 5 heartbeats per
exercise min. before minutes of min. after 5 minutes of rest min. after 5
exercise vigorous minutes of minutes of rest
exercise vigorous
exercise

My results

Student 1

Student 2

Average

Questions
1. Do you notice any trends in the results? Explain.

2. Describe the relationship between breathing and heartbeat.

3. Based on what you learnt thus far explain why the results look the way they do.

4. Did your heart rate return to what it was before exercising, after the 5-minute rest period? Explain
why or why not.

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Summary

Effects on your breathing rate from exercise includes ; faster pulses, quicker breaths and longer breaths.

The longer or faster you exercise determines the strain you put on your body, By pushing yourself to the
max your body will be pumping faster and making you breathe much faster to get the air through your body.
It also depends on what type of exercise you do e.g. aerobic or anaerobic.

Aerobic is a long exercise where you test your body in a longer time period e.g. cross-country, football,
marathon running and rugby. Anaerobic is a short exercise where you can spring or quickly change the
angle of your body in a short period of time eg. 100-metre sprint, football - to catch up to an opposing
player, cricket - to run to the opposite crease and baseball - to run round the pitch and get a home run! All
these can affect your breathing rate, but these can vary by the persons

Click HERE to take a quiz on the effects of exercise on breathing.

🏃 Exercise 11 - Comparison of aerobic and anaerobic respiration

Use the table below to tabulate as many similarities and differences that you can think of when you
compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

Aerobic respiration Anaerobic respiration

Similarities

Differences

Review time
Review the work covered using the following review site. Make sure you go through all 4 pages.

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